Condo Media - November 2017 - 32

VALUE
K N O W

Y O U R

A cartoon illustrating the problem
would have two panels: In one, managers would see themselves grouped with
attorneys, accountants, doctors, and
other professionals. In the other, board
members and owners would see them
grouped with administrative assistants,
clerical workers, and (possibly) maintenance personnel.
Managers have struggled with this
perception gap for decades. The primary
reason for it, most agree, is that many
owners don't understand how condominiums work or what managers do.
"People don't realize the amount of
work and the magnitude of what goes
into managing a community association," says Scott Wolf, CMCA, AMS,
PCAM, managing partner in Brigs, LLC,
AAMC.
Ellen Shapiro, a partner in the Massachusetts law firm Goodman, Shapiro
and Lombardi, LLC, agrees. "Owners see
that everything is going great," she notes,
"but they don't realize that the reason the
association is running well is because of
everything the manager is doing behind
the scenes to make sure it does."

understanding of issues that board
members are usually learning about
for the first time."
■ Ellen Shapiro, Partner, Goodman,
Shapiro, & Lombardi, LLC
"Managers aren't attorneys, but they
can answer many legal questions, because they know how attorneys have
answered the same questions for other
associations." Equally important, Shapiro says, "They know what they don't
know. They know when a board needs
[professional advice]."

OBVIOUS TO SOME
Owners may not readily perceive what
managers do and what they contribute
to a community association, but other
industry professionals certainly do. A
few examples, gleaned from multiple
interviews, illustrate the consensus
view of the professionals who work with
them that managers play a valuable and
largely undervalued role in the operation of community associations:

■ Robert Dronge, East Region Senior
Vice President, Community Association Banking, Mutual of Omaha Bank
It's not just what managers know that
makes them valuable, Dronge says. It's
whom they know and the relationships
they have established with other professionals and service providers. "There
is no better illustration of a manager's
[worth] than to have a plumber respond
to an emergency call at two in the
morning on Thanksgiving eve."

■ Richard Brooks, Partner, Marcus,
Errico, Emmer & Brooks, PC
"Managers have to wear many different hats," Brooks says. "They aren't
engineers, or lawyers or accountants,
but they have to know almost as much
as those professionals" to explain
complicated issues and convey
information to board members and
owners. "I'd usually rather talk to the
manager than to a board member,"
Brooks notes, "because the manager
sees the whole picture and has some

■ Gregory Pierce, LIA, CPA, Vice
President and Director of Business
Development at NorthStar Insurance
Services, Inc.
"Managers are the communications
traffic cop for the association. They
direct the flow of information" to
board members and owners. Managers can give boards the information
they need to select insurance policies,
and, equally important, Pierce says,
they "can give brokers the information
they need to submit quotes and to

32

CONDOMEDIA

represent the association favorably
to underwriters." Managers also
play a crucial role in the claims filing
process, he notes. "They streamline
communication with the broker and
the carrier," making sure the claim is
paid promptly and making sure any
repair work is done on time.
■ Kenneth Bloom, CPA, Bloom Cohen
Hayes, LLC
"Managers are like the association's
central nervous system. They bring
all the parts together for the benefit of
their clients ... Having a professional
manager improves the operations
of the association-there's no doubt
about it."
■ Tony Chiarelli, President, RMX
Northeast and Landmark Associates
Boards and owners benefit not just
from a manager's knowledge of
their community, but also from the
manager's experience with other
properties, Chiarelli says. "They share
information constantly with other
managers. They know what works and
what doesn't work and why. There is
just no substitute for an experienced
manager who knows what they are
doing." For that reason, among others,
Chiarelli says he is hesitant to take
on a large capital project if there is no
manager involved. "That just doesn't
make any sense to me."
"At the end of the day," Shapiro summarizes, "we all depend on managers."
Condo Media - November 2017

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